Commuter Misery for Britain's Jammed Motorists: Drivers Spend 13 Weeks of Working Life at a Stand Still 30 October 2009

WEYBRIDGE, UNITED KINGDOM – November 2, 2009: Frustrated commuters spend more than two days (49.5 hours) each year stuck in stand-still traffic on Britain’s roads, it has been revealed.

Daily jams and queues blight 71% of the UK workforce who make the journey to work by car. The average commuter spends 47 minutes on their journey, 12 minutes of which is spent either crawling below 5 mph or totally stationary.

According to Kia Motors’ Cleaner Driving Report, which assessed the driving habits of the UK’s commuters, the average Brit will spend 91 days of their working life grinding to a halt in a bid to reach their work place.

The worst affected of all are those commuters living in Greater Manchester forced to use the heavily congested A556. The 50,000 drivers who use the four-mile stretch of road each day collectively waste half a million hours sitting in queues each year. Adding to the frustration of waiting in constant tailbacks, Kia Motors found that:

Two-thirds (66%) of commuters admitting to speeding when the traffic clears to make up time

62% of drivers grow angry when they hit queues, with one in three commuters admitting having experienced ‘road rage’ in heavy traffic

Almost half (49%) say they’ve narrowly avoided a traffic-related accident

One in five (19%) have suffered a bump or minor accident while driving to work

44% are regularly late for work due to traffic

Despite this, commuters are reticent to change their ways. Some 30% of drivers rule out public transport due to inconvenience, while almost three-quarters (72%) said they value the privacy and space that their journey to work affords.

Sue Mulcaster, a Kia Motors spokesperson said: “For many, driving to work is the only option – a lot of people need to use their car at work, while some live in areas where public transport just isn’t viable. Taking this on board, car manufacturers have a duty to ensure the cars that are on the road are as environmentally responsible as possible. By investing in green technology such as Intelligent Stop and Go (ISG), where the car’s engine switches off when stationary, the environmental impact of stop-start driving in heavy traffic is reduced, with fuel consumption and emissions significantly.’

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